into
coaching Tyrell
Williams Jersey , he watched more than enough football from the
broadcast booth over the past decade to know that the only logical thing to do
with the ball on the goal line is to give it to Marshawn Lynch.And no matter
what happens, definitely don't call a pass instead.Just ask Pete Carroll — or,
better yet, don't.But the Oakland Raiders' new boss deliberately didn't activate
Beast Mode with first down on the Chargers' 1 late in the third quarter Sunday
while the Raiders (1-4) were desperately trying to cut into a 20-3
deficit.Gruden called a play-action pass for Derek Carr, who promptly threw an
end-zone interception to Los Angeles star Melvin Ingram.The Chargers also stole
the Raiders' momentum, made a 96-yard touchdown drive and cruised to a 26-10
victory over their longtime AFC West rivals, who still haven't figured out how
to maximize their opportunities during Gruden's first year back."The decision
there was to throw it, and if it's not open, to throw it away," Gruden said. "It
just didn't work out. We expected to have a wide-open receiver on the play.
Obviously that will be second-guessed. Rightfully so. But we should have made
that (deliberately incomplete) throw down there, and live to hand the ball off
on the next play."Gruden's brazen defiance of conventional Lynch wisdom dearly
cost him and his team — and he can count his workhorse running back among those
second-guessers he mentioned.Lynch was visibly upset on the sideline, tossing
his helmet in the air and yelling loudly to himself while undoubtedly reliving
memories of his Seattle Seahawks' final play in the February 2015 Super
Bowl.Carr also realized the folly of what happened. After all, when Lynch joined
his hometown Raiders last year, Carr famously said there was "no way we'll be on
the 1-yard line and I won't give it to Marshawn."Gruden took the blame for the
call, but also gently chided his quarterback for not executing at the pivotal
moment."First-and-goal at the 1, faking to Lynch has been a great call for a lot
of years," Gruden claimed. "I think (Carr) just presses at some moments."Carr,
who went 24 of 33 for 268 yards and one late touchdown Authentic
Keenan Allen Jersey , readily agreed with his new boss' assessment
of his predilection for pressing."Absolutely. There's no doubt," Carr said.
"That's always been a problem of mine. It's not a problem, it's a weakness, is
I've always just tried to do too much. It's not always about heart. I just want
to win so bad."Carr also gave the Chargers credit on the interception, noting
that his first two options were covered."They did a great job, because on film
it looked great, to be honest with you," Carr said. "Obviously, Marshawn, we
love to give him the ball and stuff like that, but we had seen some things they
showed on film, and it was like, 'This should be good.' Obviously they covered
it. Didn't work."The Raiders' offensive failures weren't limited to that one
play-call on the Chargers' goal line. Los Angeles outgained Oakland 412 yards to
289, and the Raiders' offense managed only 14 first downs and a mere 41 yards
rushing.After Amari Cooper had eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown last
week against Cleveland, the receiver had one catch for 10 yards on his only
target against Los Angeles. Carr defended his inability to get the ball to
Cooper, saying the Chargers were keyed on stopping the playmaking
pass-catcher.Although Gruden and Carr have only one win together, they still
appear to be connecting on the plan to build a long-term foundation for the
Raiders."We're in such a production-oriented business," Carr said. "We forget
the process of things Youth
Michael Schofield Jersey , and if you start getting down during the
process, there's never going to be any production. So when it happens like this,
you stay the course and you keep going. You come out here and you don't quit on
what you've been doing." Former NFL executive Eric Grubman had a role in the
actual and threatened relocation of multiple franchises. He denies that he’s
currently trying, while no longer employed by the league, to move a team back to
one of the markets the NFL vacated.Appearing on the Mighty 1090 in San Diego,
Grubman denied a report from Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that Grubman is
trying to move a team back to the former home of the Chargers. That echoes
Grubman’s quote to Vincent Bonsignore of the L.A. Daily News, saying
it’s 鈥渃ompletely and utterly bogus information” having “[z]ero merit.”Freeman
didn’t back off despite the denial: “I feel very confident that what I was told
was accurate.I also feel very strongly about something else I was told,” Freeman
said, adding that Grubman has told people he’s involved in trying to take a team
to San Diego. “San Diego is NOT off the market for an NFL team.”San Diego
shouldn’t be off the market. It’s a major-league city that simply wasn’t able or
willing to finance a new stadium for the Chargers. If the stadium can be
privately financed or if the powers-that-be will come up with the funding, San
Diego could attract a team from a city where a new stadium is needed and the
public money isn’t available.So which teams would be in play? Basically, any
that currently need or that soon will need a new stadium, and that don’t believe
public money will be available. If, in the end, ownership will have to pay for
its own stadium, building it San Diego may be regarded as preferable to paying
for a stadium in the team’s current market. Clearance NFL
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